Conventionally, cards identifying research animals have been attached to animal cages in a rack system. A card holder is attached to the animal cage system. The card slides into the card holder. Typically, the card holder is comprised of metal.
Dyanasys has developed a product referred to as Dyanasys Animal Care Warehouse Management System which attaches a radio frequency identification (RFID) transmitter to a conventional metal card holder. The card can be read up to a range of about 8 to 10 feet.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0241591 describes an animal cage in which a rear wall has an opening for inserting a monitoring module. The monitoring monitor monitors various conditions of the cage. A radio frequency identification (RFID) tag can be integrated with the monitoring linkage. The RFID tag can be programmed with identification information, such as number of the cage, type of animal, number of animals and type of testing. The tag can be read with a reader to keep track and identify each cage. This patent has the drawback of not including the combination of a card holder and RFID tag with an animal cage. It is desirable to provide an improved integrated RFID card holder and a system operable at a greater range for RFID inventorying and/or tracking of animals, animal cages, and racks